‘When I first heard about the procrastination workshop, I wasn’t sure if I could spare that amount of time, if I could spare most of a day on this. But then I decided to invest in it. I found it was an investment well worth making.
I also thought …. I know a lot about these things already, because I have done a psychology undergraduate degree and I have experience teaching . I should be able to knuckle down and get on with it. In spite of all that, I found I learnt a lot and it will help me a lot.
All of it was very good and I liked it all. As well as helping me make sure I do what I intended to do, what I learned at the workshop is helping me clarify the decision making processes I’m using. It’s helping me clarify how I come to some conclusions, or how I do something or not do something else.
I would definitely recommend the procrastination workshop. It was very worthwhile learning. ‘
A tertiary teacher (Summarized (with permission) transcription of comments made by this participant)
‘ I imagine most people would have some anxiety prior to doing something like this workshop about what the group will be like, and whether they will fit in. At the Procrastination workshop I found there was a great bunch of people. I really enjoyed the group and I was surprised that there were probably one or two in the group that I thought, ‘Wow really – you have trouble with procrastination? You, who have done a PhD? It just goes to show that people who appear as if they have got it all together battle things like procrastination. I am always amazed when I attend anything like this workshop, at the range of different personalities, different cultures, different educational levels etc
I really enjoyed the day I thought it was fabulous. Among the many things I liked, there were two things that I found most useful. The ‘ if… then…’ idea was something I’d never heard of before. It was like a bit of a light went on when I heard about it, so I appreciated being introduced to that idea. Also I ‘d never really stopped to think about that if I didn’t feel like doing something, or I wasn’t motivated to do it, then I could feel like that but go ahead and do it anyway. I’ve drawn on that quite a bit this week already. I can say to myself (when I don’t really feel like doing something), ‘Well I know you don’t feel like doing it, but that was your plan, so start’.
I would definitely recommend the Procrastination workshop to others because I found it a really stimulating day, and very useful in a practical sense of getting myself moving.’ Anonymous participant
‘I read about the workshop and thought, ‘I probably need to do that’ but then I wasn’t sure if it was for me. I suppose like a lot of people I thought maybe?… yes….no…. maybe ? And then I thought ‘I’m far too busy, I haven’t got time to do that’. I really didn’t know what I was looking for.
The other thing was, I don’t work terribly well in a room full of people because I have a hearing disability. I find it really difficult to sit in a room with a whole lot of people talking I find it quite overwhelming as I often I can’t hear what they are saying.
In the end I thought, ‘if I don’t do it now I’m never going to do it’. When I went to book, the class wasn’t full, so I didn’t really have a good excuse to not go.
Once we started getting into the workshop, it explained some things to me which helped me understand, why I do, what I do. It helped me understand that I probably do procrastinate a lot, and more than I need to. The workshop was definitely something that I needed to do and it will definitely help me, so my concerns about whether it was the right thing for me were nullified. I was really just trying to put it off.
The group of people that we had was actually a really good group, and it worked well for me.
I was amazed when Cathie said that procrastinators aren’t lazy. I thought that was quite specific to me because I feel like sometimes I’m not getting these things done because I’m lazy. It’s really made me open my eyes, and see that probably very often people who procrastinate, are actually very busy people, and they do end up putting some things off for a good reason. But sometimes they put things off because they are procrastinating.
The part about being self compassionate was useful for me, because sometimes I feel that I do knock myself out for not getting things done (when I end up staying up until really late, doing things because I’ve come to the last minute) I think sometimes people who procrastinate, do knock themselves a bit, they don’t give themselves the right to say, ‘Okay so you have done it wrong, let’s give it another go ‘. You just believe you are a bit hopeless at getting organised, which creates a lot of self doubt.
Another thing that was useful, is the ‘just start anywhere’ idea. I like that idea because I tend to start in the middle. It gave me the wherewithal to actually start doing what I’d started yesterday, because it meant that I didn’t have to start at the beginning. I could just start where I felt like, and so I went and got some stuff, and got going, which was really good. I think ‘if that … then’ will probably work for me quite well also.
Coming to the workshop did actually help me and give me a lot to think about. It gave me some methods to use, to help change what I do. I enjoyed it, it was a good day.
I’d recommend the workshop – it’s only a few hours. If it works for you that’s great, and if it doesn’t, you haven’t really lost anything. ‘
Added a year later : ‘A year later, I still think the day I spent at the procrastination workshop was well worth it’
Sandy ( Fantail Studio )
‘I wondered if there was going to be anything new at the workshop because I’ve battled with procrastination before and I’ve read a lot about it. However I decided that it would be good to go, even if it was the things I had heard before, just to remind myself. When I went to the workshop I found that Cathie presented stuff that I hadn’t read before, so I found it really interesting.
Out of the things presented, I liked the ‘ if … then’ plans the most, because I have put them into practice and they are working. Also the’ get started’ idea was a very big thing for me. I have used it today. It’s funny, because getting over that hurdle seems huge, and once you are over it, you sit back and think – what was the big deal ? The other thing that resonated with me was about being more self compassionate and not beating myself up.
I thought it was good to have practical plans that you can put into place, and I liked that Cathie explained that they are based on research, and gave some statistics.
I would recommend this workshop. I think it would be particularly good for people who are writers. Writing is very individual and you are isolated, so it was really good to be in a room with other people who have similar issues to share stories, and hear their stories.
I found the workshop very good, I enjoyed it and I’m glad I went ‘
Elaine Donavan
‘I thought the Procrastination workshop, was really good. I really liked the fact that it was evidence based, with suggestions for further reading. This means that if people wanted to take it further they could. I thought the pace was good because it wasn’t too fast and it didn’t feel we were rushing. We had time to talk about things if people were interested and but it wasn’t too empty either. It was good the way Cathie gave ground rules at the beginning about being relevant , and not offering advice .It made people consider whether what they had to say was relevant or not, so the class kept on track. Being given advice can be quite demoralizing.
I liked the amount of information we were given and the fact that there were very practical things that people could apply immediately.
‘If it is this then I will ‘ that is an immediate thing that people can translate it into life and use. I have already used that technique. It’s really good to have some more strategies.
This workshop has highlighted for me, that sometimes the issue is actually the busyness that we opt into without actually having a plan for how all of that stuff is going to fit in. We are not protective of our time and then we end up with a million competing concerns, and then we let people down or we fail to do things that we said we would do, which feels like procrastination but actually it’s poor planning. I am going to rethink the way I make commitments. .
I would recommend the workshop because I think that it can have immediate practical value. Also I think it’s good for people with who suffer from procrastination to meet in a group. There is a group acceptance. You go away feeling like, ‘I’m not the only person who suffers from this issue.’
I really enjoyed the workshop. ‘
Jaqui T